


Getting Closure

by SymphonyWizard



Category: Smallville
Genre: Angst, F/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-05
Updated: 2017-03-05
Packaged: 2018-09-28 11:33:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,855
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10098734
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SymphonyWizard/pseuds/SymphonyWizard
Summary: Set around the episode "Fierce," Lana returns to the Kent Farm, but things don't go exactly as she hoped.





	

_Well, I never saw it coming_

_I should've started running_

_A long, long time ago_

_And I never thought I'd doubt you_

_I'm better off without you_

_More than you, more than you know_

_I'm slowly getting closure_

_I guess it's really over_

_I'm finally getting better_

_And now I'm picking up the pieces_

_I'm spending all of these years_

_Putting my heart back together_

_Cause the day I thougt I'd never get through_

_I got over you_

Over You--Daughtry

Lana walked up to the Kent house. She had parked a little ways away from the property so that she could manage a more subtle approach. A bright smile spread across her face as she approached the yellow house. Even after tragedy and having to be rebuilt once or twice like after the second meteor shower, it still radiated warmth and joy.

The Luthor Mansion, during her tenure, offered her a sense of safety from the heartache that Clark caused from blatantly telling her that he didn't love her as well as the wall of secrets that he kept between them. Well, after witnessing his powers, his secrecy made sense. He longed to be normal and the fear of being looked at as anything less than human scared him more than anything. The Luthor Mansion offered Lana a sense of comfort, but the much bigger house held its own secrets. Well, that's one thing that Clark Kent and Lex Luthor share in common. Secrets, secrets, and more secrets. Lana determined that that's what caused the deterioration of their friendship.

As she walked up to the house, she heard noise coming from the barn. Clark's probably in there. Smiling, she approached the barn from the side entrance. She walked in and glanced around for a moment before her eyes found Clark. He was working on that old tractor that the Kents owned. Sometimes, Lana thought that the Kents spent more time fixing that old thing more than they did using it. Clark was always a dilligent worker. Given his immense strength and speed...it must have been wonderful for Jonathan and Martha not having to hire a few extra hands.

Lana approached him quietly and Shelby, the loyal old pooch, greeted her first. Clark looked up from his task momentarily.

"Oh, looks like she found us," Clark muttered dispassionately. "Kara, I'm almost done here, could you grab me the phillips head screwdriver over there in the toolbox?" Who's Kara?

Despite her wonder, Lana closed the distance between them and rested her hand on Clark's shoulder. He stopped what he was doing and looked up again. He knew the touch of her hand. Probably his imagination, Lana suspected he thought. Rising to his feet he turned around and their eyes locked. All color drained from his face.

"Lana," he breathed. The look of astounded horror, she knew was her own fault. She faked her death and told no one about her plan beforehand. The heartache that her friends must have suffered--that Clark must have suffered--filled her with almost more guilt that she could handle. The tools fell from Clark's hand with a clank. He continued to stare at her, as if trying to assess whether she was real, a ghost, or just a figment of his imagination.

Smiling, Lana stepped forward a little and reached up to touch his cheek. He doesn't move, only continues to stare at her. She tries to convery all of her "I missed you so much" and "It's really me" into her smile. Eventually Clark pulls her into a hug. Lana sinks into his arms. She never wanted to leave his embrace again.

Almost as quickly as the embrace began, though, Clark gently pushed her away.

"Lana, how...what...?" Lana knows what he is asking and it is such a long story.

A dark shadow crosses his face. "Was it something Lex did?" he demanded.

"No," Lana answered simply. "This--the death, the explosion--that was all my doing."

Clark backed away from her a little bit. He turned around, looking deep in thought. "They identified your body in that car," he said bitterly.

"I know; it was a-a clone of me," Lana explained guiltily.

"Clone," repeated Clark. "Well, it's not the first time LuthorCorp cloned someone. Seems like it was only a matter of time before a few Lana clones started popping up." He turned back around to face her. "Why don't you come inside."

Lana accepted his invitation and followed him. It seemed that he was avoiding her a little, so she followed in his stride rather than by his side. When they reached the house, he, like a gentleman, opened the door for her and she walked into the house. Even on the inside, the Kent house offered a sense of warmth and security.

Clark followed in after her and Lana watched as he went into the kitchen and came back out with a mug of coffee. He offered it to her and she accepted before they sat on the couch. They sat in silence for what felt like several minutes with Clark just staring at her. Finally he spoke.

"Lana, I thought you were gone," he said simply, yet slightly admonishingly. Now she truly felt her guilt being thrown up in her face. "If you knew how that felt..." he lets the sentence hang.

"Clark, I am so sorry," Lana apologized genuinely. "I never wanted to hurt you." Considering their history, she never thought she would be the one uttering those words, but she meant each of them.

Clark nodded softly, not meeting her eyes. "But you didn't trust me enough to let me help," he said bitterly. His eyes returned to her and she thought she saw a little bit of betrayal mixed in with his hurt.

"I was trying to protect you," Lana explained. She set her mug down on the frame behind the couch. "Clark, I know you. You're gonna rush in there and try and save someone even if it means putting your own life in danger."

Clark rolled his eyes, but Lana continued.

"And when Lionel threatened to hurt you...I couldn't take that chance," she finished reassuringly.

Clark gave her a long hard look before finally exhaling. "You know, it's a little ironic, hearing someone else say that."

Lana smiled.

"But I guess I'm just not used to being the one that needs to be protected."

They shared a smile. It looked like a bright thought crossed Clark's mind as he smiled bigger.

"I can't wait to see the look on Chloe's face when she finds out you're alive," he said.

Lana's smile disappeared, being replaced with guarded panic. She shook her head. "She can't," she objected abruptly.

Clark blinked.

"Not yet." Lana got up and pushed some of her hair out of her face nervously. "I committed a serious crime and I wasn't supposed to come back here." Clark stared at her. "My name has to be cleared before I suddenly reappear in Smallville."

Clark cocked his head a little. It looked like he was listening for something. Then he returned his gaze to Lana. "That might be a bit difficult."

Before Lana could as what he meant by that statement, she heard footsteps coming down the stairs.

"Clark, you are such a farmboy, you couldn't stay in bed for just a few more...?" that's Chloe's voice.

Lana turned her head towards the stairs and saw indeed that it was Chloe. Her blonde hair was pulled back in a messy knot and she was wearing one of Clark's blue flannels. And nothing else it looked like. She looked at Clark and then back at Chloe.

"Lana?" just like Clark, Chloe sounded like she was trying to assess if Lana was real or not.

Lana offered her a forced smile. She was not expecting this. Despite the fact that she was only wearing a flannel that was several sizes too large for her and went down to her thighs, Chloe rushed over and pulled Lana into a breathtaking hug.

"You're alive," Chloe breathed.

Despite her surprise at this turn of events, Lana hugged her back, patting her back comfortingly as she felt her shake with sobs. Lana felt sobs of her own threaten to reach the surface.

"Um, Chlo," began Clark, a bit nervously. "Could you give Lana and I a couple of minutes please, maybe check up on Kara?"

As Chloe pulled away from Lana, Lana saw a bit of insecurity in her eyes as she looked at Clark. She listened softly and headed back upstairs. Lana watched her until she disappeared.

"Who's Kara?" she finally asked.

"My cousin," replied Clark.

"Ah," was all Lana could say. She bit her lip, trying to make sense of everything. "And you and Chloe?"

"Chloe lives here," replied Clark.

At that, Lana whipped her head around and faced Clark. "Looks like it didn't take you long to get over me," she seethed.

Instead of offering some sort of bumbling apology like she would have thought, Clark looked...cold as he got to his feet and crossed his arms. "You hurt us both, Lana. Long before even faked your death. And the fact that you faked your death, and letting those closest to you believe you were dead, and telling me a couple of minutes ago that you didn't even want Chloe knowing you were alive...you really, really hurt us. What kind of a friend are you?"

Now Lana was angry. "Well, I am sorry that I was so preoccupied with trying to get away from Lex Luthor that I had to keep it as secret as possible," she spat. "But it looks like you are already on the rebound."

"Chloe is not a rebound," argued Clark so slowly and clearly that Lana actually believed him. "I love her and moreover, she is honest with me."

The words tore through Lana like a serrated knife, but she countered. "That's ironic, considered how dishonest you were with me."

"This is Smallville!" shouted Clark. "Having meteor powers, or not even being from this planet like me, is not exactly something that people just share with everybody. At least not without inviting attention from people who might use their abilities for their personal gain." Lana could see the insecurities in his eyes as he said that.

"But you, you had nothing of the sort to hide, yet you couldn't even confide in me or Chloe," said Clark, his voice dripping with betrayal. "Chloe might have spent half of high school trying to force my secrets out of me, but she loves me."

Lana swallowed hard. "I loved you," she said quietly.

Clark shook his head. "Not enough to risk the wrath of Lionel Luthor by meeting me like you said you would."

Lana faltered. She had no comeback.

"I think it would be best if you leave my house. Right now." Clark pointed at the door.

Lana blinked back her tears, trying to hide her hurt with as much anger as she could as she walked out of the Kent house. As the Kent farm became further and further away from her, Lana did not look back. She would make Clark suffer. Maybe she could get Lex with that. There was enough animosity between them as it was. She could get Lex to put it to good use.

***

Clark walked back upstairs with two mugs of coffee. He pushed open the door to his room and found Chloe sitting on the edge of the bed, staring into her lap.

"What's wrong?" he asked gently, offering her the cup of coffee. Chloe accepted it and Clark sat down next to her.

"It's nothing," she replied distantly.

Clark reached out and started stroking her back affectionately. "You know you can talk me, sweetie."

Chloe gave him a mournful look. She exhaled. "Last night I went to bed living a dream and I wake up and I am in a nightmare."

"Chloe, it's still as dream," Clark reassured her.

"Is it?" asked Chloe. "Lana suddenly reappears alive and well and I just have this fear that you are going to dump everything and run to her like you always do and if you do that I'll never forgive you."

Clark studied her for a minute. He and Chloe have been quite happy together the past couple of months since she miraculously rose from the dead, but she was still afraid because of his history with Lana. He tried something else. "Have you been listening at all to that loud conversation between Lana and I downstairs?"

Chloe stared at him a minute before offering a confessional nod. She laughed a little. "You know, I never thought I'd hear you of all people scream 'This is Smallville.'" 

Clark laughed with her, but almost as soon as a their laughs began to reach a harmony, Chloe's laughter died out, being replaced with that same look of worry. "Then you also know that I told her leave this house and that I love you," he pointed out as if it should have been obvious.

Chloe still looked worried. "But what about tomorrow, or next week? She's suddenly alive and how do I know that you won't just dump everything and run to her?"

In reply, Clark's arm slipped around her and pulled her against him. He took her half-finished cup of coffee away from her--a risky move, he knew--and tilted her face up to look at him.

"I love you, Chloe Sullivan," he said firmly, but lovingly. "Not Lana Lang--Luthor, or whatever she's calling herself now--you and I am not going anywhere."

Chloe blinked away a couple of tears. "But you have always loved Lana--" 

"Exactly!" Clark interrupted with a smile. She frowned at him, so he explained. "You just said it--'loved' not 'love.' Past-tense." 

"But how can I expect you to just dismiss her as a closed chapter in the book of Clark Kent?"

Clark sighed. "It's taken me awhile to realize this, but Lana was--is just a high school crush that I finally had a chance with and I am totally over her," he explained. Okay, now Chloe was making him desperate. Good heavens, what's it going to take to convince this woman that he loves her? "What if I told you that I am stuck with you and I couldn't wish for better? What if I told you that I can barely count on one hand all the reasons why I was in love with Lana, while I can talk your ear off listing all the reasons why I love you?" With Lana, all he could think of--when he though about it--were how beautiful she was, the fact that they related to each other as they were both orphans...it was just a crush. Chloe, where did he begin her? Her smile, her eyes, her spirit, how far she goes to chase down a story, accepting him for him in every way, the fact that he could share just about everything with her and trust her to name a few... 

Chloe stared up at him for several minutes before a bright grin spread across her lips. Clark smiled too, but he had to try and not make it smug. He had always been able to get a smile out of her. Maybe it's one of his superpowers. "I'd say that I am perfectly all right with that." She brought her head up a little further and their lips met. Before Clark could deepen the kiss, though, she broke away just enough to whisper, "And if you stop telling me why you love me, I will hurt you." 

Clark let out a toothy grin at the threatening note in her voice. "No you won't." He kissed her again, more fiercely. In response, her lips opened and her tongue flicked out, teasing Clark's lips and Clark's own tongue slipped out and soon they were tasting each other's mouths. Clark's hand slid down from her cheek and slipped into his flannel shirt that she was wearing and she let out a soft whimper as his fingers found her nipple.

"Clark," she breathed between their kisses. "I have to get to work soon and I already have a boss that I want to drop a car on."

"Are you sure that I can't convince you to stay a few more minutes?" asked Clark, gently pushing her down onto her back and slipping his other hand between her thighs. Chloe's eyes rolled back into her head as she moaned helplessly as Clark's lips slipped from hers and began trailing the soft curve of her neck.

"Maybe I stay for a few minutes," she surrendered breathlessly.

"Glad to hear it," Clark muttered throatily. He loved Chloe with all of his heart and he was willing to show it as much as possible. He couldn't stop her from feeling sad or hopeless all the time, but at least he can make sure that it's not because she's feeling threatened by Lana. Or any woman for that matter.


End file.
